Reviewing Random Films For Fun

July 30, 2014

The Wizard of Oz

Well… I followed the yellow brick road and found out that film 44 in the “1001 Films to See Before You Die” challenge is 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”. This film is 85 years old (bet you feel old now I’ve said that). Been a very long time since I saw this and I enjoyed it just as much now as I did as a child. I do remember The Wicked Witch being a lot scarier as a child compared to now. There is a few nip-picky things I have to bring up. The first being the singing, far too much in my opinion. Granted, everyone song in the film is memorable for their own reason but after hearing “The Wizard of Oz” song over and over, I kinda got sick of hearing it. Also, it was pretty clear everyone was mouthing the lyrics and not singing at all. Next thing to bring up is the sets. There’s no secret that the backdrops are painted background but they stick out like a sore thumb. Again, I am being nip-picky. Besides those little bits, I highly recommend checking this out as it is a classic. If you liked this film, then check out this YouTube video by CinemaSins where he looks at everything wrong with the film in under six minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wka3yoC-cLA). After you’ve watched that, then let me know your thoughts about this film. Here is what I had to say while watching 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz”.

Film – The Wizard of Oz

Year – 1939

Director – Victor Fleming

Staring – Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

IMDb Rating – 8.1/10

My Rating – 8.25/10

Who put the sepia filter on?

Reading

Run Dorothy Run!

You can easily tell these were filmed on a movie set

Don’t talk to me, I need to count my chicks

Hunk just smashed his finger with a hammer

That’s not the smartest place to walk

Just as I type that, Dorothy falls into a pig sty

“Their gonna erect a statue of me” – No they won’t

Miss Gulch sounds like a meanie

Is Toto Dorothy’s counsiler/guidence?

“SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW”

Dorothy’s singing voice is meant to be young but sounds like a old woman

Also… You can tell she’s mouthing the song!

IT’S MISS GULCH!!!

Miss Gulch is mad because Toto bit her

Destroy Toto!!! That’s a bit harsh

That dog will be safe in my wicker basket

Aunt can’t say “Bitch” because she’s a Christian?!?

Toto escapes the basket and returns to Dorothy

Dorothy proposes on running away and then leaves… walking like nothing bad is happening

Dorothy bumps into a Professor Marvel

Is Professor Marvel a mind reader?

Toto just stole Marvel’s sausage!!!

Stare into my ball…. it’s crystal!

Mark Anthony? Wasn’t he married to Jennnifer Lopez?

How can he see that? All I see is Marvel’s tie in the reflection

Marvel says Aunt is having a heart attack

Boy it just got windy

TWISTER!!!!

Nice to see a tumbleweed in the wind

Everyone excluding Dorothy hides in the storm shelter

Dorothy holds her head even though that window looks like it never hit her

FLYING COW!!!

IT’S THE BITCH!!

SHE’S A WITCH!!!

You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record playing

And that’s the end of the ride

Thanks cameraman for fixing the sepia to colour

Is this the same set from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (just altered slightly)

“I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”

Is that a bubble or a J J Abrams lens flare?

Neither! It’s the magical fairy

Someone’s just dropped a house on the Wicked Witch

“Only bad witches are ugly”

MUNCHKINS!!!!

I wonder if Munchkins actually know where Kansas is?

Is this a song, how does everyone know their parts? It’s as if this was pre-meditated

DING-DONG! The Witch is dead!!! – [insert Margaret Thatcher joke]

The coroner “throughly examined her” – Basically, he went up to her corpse and was like “Yep! She’s dead”

Does The Mayor have flowers on his shoes?

Ballerinas are in charge of The Lullaby League?!?

“The Lollipop Guild”?!?!

They are clearly singing out of the side of their mouths

IT’S THE REAL WITCH!!!!

The slippers have disappeared… on Dorothy’s feet!

I so want to see a bitch fight!

“I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!”

Glinda tells Dorothy to visit Oz in Emerald City

“Follow The Yellow Brick Road” – But I wanna follow the red one!!!

Three munchkins told the same message to Dorothy in the space of a second!

Bye Dorothy! Don’t walk into that painted background!

IT’S SCARECROW

Scarecrow doesn’t have a brain… but can talk perfectly fine

Don’t you just hate having a nail in your back?

Scarecrow is a shit scarecrow

Is it a requirement for everyone to sing their problems?

Dorothy agrees to take Scarecrow with her to visit Oz and both sing “The Wizard of Oz” song

How did Dorothy and Scarecrow not see The Witch?

Those trees can talk!!!

Why is this tree have a voice of an mobster?

The trees won’t give them apples but throw them at them

IT’S TIN MAN

How can you tell Tin Man is saying “Oil Can”?

Tin Man has no heart… So how is he alive?

Time to sing about Tin Man’s troubles

Did they just make a Shakespeare reference of Romeo & Juliet?

So that’s where Michae Jackson got his lean dance from for Smooth Crimimal

Dorothy says Tin Man can join the journey

It’ the witch on a rooftop

FIREBALL!!!!

Is it me or Tin Man looks a little like Boy George?

I’m gonna hate “The Wizard of Oz” song by the end of this film

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, a lion sleeps tonight

“Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!”

IT’S A LION!!!

Dorothy defeated Lion with a slap

Time to add Lion to this gang of misfits

Time for a song about Lion’s problems

At The Witch’s lair

The Witch pours poppies everywhere to make them sleep

That walk to Emerald City didn’t take long

The poppies are putting everyone to sleep

Glinda makes it snow and that wakes everyone up but Tin Man turns rusted again

A gentle bit of snow can rust Tin Man?!?

There’s snow in that shot but no snow in the next

Time for The Witch to strike

“Bell out of order, please knock!” – The bell works, they just tried it

So… Much… Green

THE HORSE IS PURPLE!!!

More singing!

Now it’s red!

Now yellow!

Nothing like a good pampering

Is there a reason why Tin Man still has his axe?

The Witch has found them and decides to write messages in the sky rather than attack

Time for Lion to sing about being King of the Forest

Lion is clearly mouthing the song

Where did that grass robe come from?

Courage puts “Ape” in Apricot?!?

Oz’s servant tells them to “go away”

Dorothy starts crying because of this

Is he crying out of his eyebrows?

Lion just dropped a load in fear

IT’S OZ – Not played by James Franco

Do people still say “Jimmy Crickets”?

Oz tells all them about what not to do

Lion faints

Whippersnapper?

Oz says he’ll help them if they bring The Witch’s broomstick

Lion reawakes and dives out of the window in fear

Scarecrow somehow has a gun!

Tin Man now has a wrench as well as his axe!

The Lion has a thing!

Tin Man is then elevated and droped out of the sky

Here comes The Witch’s monkey butlers

The Monkeys take Dorothy & Toto and fly back to The Witch

Scarecrow, Lion & Tin Man plan a rescue mission

I’ll trade the dog for the slippers

The slippers won’t come off because Dorothy is alive

Toto escapes and runs away

The hourglass is counting down!!!

How did Auntie Em get in The Witch’s crystal ball?

Toto finds the others as they stuff Scarecrow back together

They climb up to The Witch’s lair

Oo-Ee-Oo

Better get a move on, that hourglass is ticking down

Three guards find them and get beaten up

Like the guards will fall for that

They did!!!

FOLLOW THE DOG!

Now the axe comes into play and it breaks the door down

Time to escape

The Witch stops them just before they leave

Scarecrow knocks down a chandelier and they flee

They’re trapped!!!

FIRE!!!

SCARECROWS ON FIRE!!!

Dorothy throws water on Scarecrow and The Witch gets a bit

“I’M MELTING!!!”

The Witch melts and dies

The guards become Dorothy’s friends and give them the broomstick

They’re back to meet Oz

“You liquidated her” – That makes it sound like The Witch went out of business

Toto finds the real Oz behind a curtatin

Scarecrow just called Oz a “humbug” – So Scarecrow is suggesting Oz hates Christmas?

Oz tells everyone that they’ve had everything they’ve wanted after all

Scarecrow is given a Diploma of Th.D

Lion is given the Triple Cross Medal

Tin Man is given a Testimonial and a heart with a clock inside it

Dorothy is told she can go back to Kansas via a hot air balloon

Oz gives Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion all the power is Oz doesn’t come back

Oz flies off without Dorothy who got out to get Toto who tried attacking a cat

IT’S GLINDA!!!

Glinda tells Dorothy she’s always had the power to return to Kansas

All Dorothy has to do is click her heels together

Time for one last goodbye

Why does Dorothy say she’ll miss Scarecrow the most? Did Dorothy and Scarecrow have a thing going on?